Leadership: The Human Factor
For over 30 years, I've worked in HR and Leadership Development, and I've been lucky enough to work with a wide range…
27.08.2026
No-one Steps in the Same River Twice
I was looking through some old notes recently and came across a quote from Heraclitus:
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
Ignoring the fact that the Greek philosophers didn't include women in their big statements, I've always liked it, as a way of talking about change and uncertainty. The truism of there being no constant but change; it's always existed. And I find that quite comforting.
Over the last year, my eldest has started a Master's degree, my youngest has begun taking her first steps into the world of work and looking at universities, I lost my dad, my mum moved into a care home as her Alzheimer's and dementia are progressing at speed and I've found myself back in education studying Applied Neuroscience.
There have been countless other changes too. Some significant, some barely noticeable at the time.
Looking back, it's hard to think of anything that has remained completely unchanged. One of the things I've become increasingly interested in through my Master's is our relationship with uncertainty. We seem to spend a great deal of time searching for certainty in environments that are constantly evolving.
And I think that's one reason why organisational change can feel so exhausting. We're often trying to hold on to a version of the river that no longer exists.
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